Disclaimer: Transformers and My Little Pony are the properties of Hasbro.
This is a non-profit work made by an independent contractor outside of any company's official notice intended for non-profit entertainment and speculative purposes only.
Darkryt Orbinautz presents...
This is the Story...
Out in the country side, Apple Bloom, a full-grown mare, sat on a log, a bandana around her neck, showing her leadership of the group of assembled fillies before her. On the logs besides were Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and three human woman who looked suspiciously like Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.
In the group of assembled fillies were a ragtag mismatched bunch of misfits, an equal mix of human and ponies, sent to Apple Bloom's Gender-Neutral Scouts to whip them into shape. That didn't mean Apple Bloom couldn't have some wholesome clean fun with them, though, as they were doing now, waiting for a friend Apple Bloom had called.
"When is he gonna GET here?" Nyx, a black winged unicorn bemoaned. She was the daughter of Luna and Pipsqueak, and Pipsqueak had sent her there for her to 'build character'. In this day and age, a unicorn with wings was nothing to gawk at anymore. Back in the day, if a unicorn had wings, or a pegasus had a horn, it was a cosmic occurrence, a breaking of reality that held staggering consequences and implications...
Now it's just kinda "Meh. Whatever." thanks to the revolutionary actions of Sunset Shimmer.
Apple Bloom chuckled, reminded of her own impatience when she was Nyx's age. "Be patient, Nyx. They're old, and they need their time."
Nyx was about to complain about Apple Bloom inviting 'boring old people' down to their campsite, but was interrupted by the sound of brakes being applied. They turned around to see what appeared to be a large, rusted garbage truck coming to a stop not too far away from their campsite. The truck's door opened, and Apple Bloom rushed over to help the driver out. It was only naturally, she'd want to help, after all.
Her sister Applejack had been having worse problems at the age she was now than Granny Smith did when Apple Bloom was Nyx's age. But even though Applejack required the use of a walker (and a hearing aid, and a pacemaker, and a rather bizarre electric tag in her ear that shocked her when she forgot something...) Applejack's pride refused to let Apple Bloom be of aid, though Applejack successfully passed it off as not wanting to 'burden the youngster'.
"Still as stubborn as ever, huh, A.J?"
"And proud of it!"
Shortly after Applejack got out of the truck, a hair-bun sporting Pinkie followed suit. Pinkie's mane seemed to have gotten poofier over the years, despite, or perhaps because of her age. Next was Rainbow Dash, whose athleticism paid off in the long run. Despite some wrinkles here and there, and her hind legs being unusually thin, she didn't seem that bad off. They were followed by Fluttershy and Rarity, both of who had their cheekbones pointing out from attempts at keeping their natural beauty. Rarity was always vain, but Fluttershy seemed to catch down-drift of Rarity's vanity as she slipped into her older years.
Last, but not least, exited Twilight Sparkle, who was wearing reading glasses all the time now to compensate for some minor vision loss. Her left wing was a lavender pegasus wing, but her right wing was a bony mess of an appendage that was bigger than any regular pony needed for their wing size.
All the scouts gasped and oohed.
"Isn't that yer sister Applejack?"
"I heard Rainbow Dash was the only pegasus to perform a Sonic Rainboom for the first time in a thousand years!"
"Wasn't Fluttershy turned into an Insecticon hybrid?"
"Quiet down, little ones." Twilight instructed all of them, her voice naturally sweet, but with the demands of a strict librarian in it. The scouts obeyed. "Yes, all those things are true. But they're not what we're here for, are they girls?"
Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie all shook their heads. Applejack said nothing, having forgotten the last word Twilight said as soon as she heard the first.
"No, no no." Twilight tsked, shaking her head. "We're here to tell a story from the past, isn't that right, girls?"
Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie all nodded. Applejack did nothing, having forgotten the last word Twilight said as she soon as she heard the next.
Nyx raised a hoof. "I have a question!"
"Yes, little one?"
"Why do you have an Alicorn wing on your left, but a bony wing on your right?"
Twilight scowled slightly, showing her distaste for the word. "Please don't use the term 'Alicorn' near me. As for my wings, it was part of a...an experiment gone awry. I'd rather not talk about it."
Twilight turned towards the truck. "I'm sure he'll be more than happy to tell you, though."
"The truck?" Nyx questioned. "How? That thing's more rusty as my dad's-"
"Nyx!"
"Listen here, you little twerp..." Rainbow Dash said, stalking forward with the intent to kill.
"At ease." A deep voice boomed from the truck that practically oozed age. Rainbow Dash obeyed like a well-trained solider following commands from its superior, and she dropped to her haunches.
All the scouts were surprised.
"Did that truck just talk?"
"How? It's so...rusty."
Just as all the scouts were overcoming their awe at the truck talking, the truck turned and drove towards them- entirely of its accord. It began shifting, panels breaking off its chassis and rearranging themselves. The front wheels folded into its back, the dump truck's tank turning into a set of metallic smooth wings, and a silver face ensconced in a blue helmet appearing above its black windows. Despite its rust, despite its old, worn-down condition, its transformation was quick, strong and proud. Even the bit at the end where the forming titan unsheathed a block that converted into a giant-sized cane. His waist made a weird noise that startled the children, but Twilight recognized it as the sound of his old engine backfiring.
"It's..." Nyx stuttered. "It's Optimus Prime! I just called Optimus Prime rusty! I just called one of the greatest hero's ever rusty!"
"At ease...Nyx, was it?" Optimus told her, standing his cane firmly on the ground. The impact of the cane hitting the dirt was brutal enough to let all the human teens and pony fillies there know that even with rust in places he didn't even know he had, Optimus Prime still had the chops to whup their Cutie Marks into line. He began scanning faces in the crowd.
"I see, Nyx, Quintus...Nyx, who were your parents again?"
"Pipsqueak and Luna."
Optimus frowned. "Pipsqueak?"
"What?" Nyx asked before realizing what had him upset. "Oh, pfft. Pipsqueak is a grown stallion. He can make his own decisions."
Optimus continued scanning, noticing Quintus Blitz hugging his mother, the son of Rainbow Dash and Quint, named after both of them. Being part 'Earth-horse', Quintus brain worked in a funny way, on a higher level than most 'non-talking horses who don't get Cutie Marks' but still below that of an Equestrian pony. Quintus didn't mind. He appreciated the finer things in life. Like pigging out on hay.
Optimus then noticed a human face that made him frown, a face that rubbed her arm nervously and returned that frown.
"You...you are the daughter of Sunset Shimmer, aren't you?"
She shamefully nodded, admitting her relation to the great criminal of her time. Optimus pressed on and ignored it, deciding not to hold her responsible for the actions of her mother.
"Now, are there any questions?"
At once, Optimus was bombarded with eager, curious questions from the young children who yet to experience the world, who had never gone out and used the Matrix to save planets, who had only heard Megatron's tyranny in bed time stories meant to scare them into behaving. (A practice Optimus disagreed with.) But he dealt with each and every question masterfully.
"Are you Twilight's Very Special Somepony?"
"No."
"Why are you all rusty? You're a robot. Can't you get replacement parts?"
"Yes...but the universe, is in harmony. My Spark, is at peace. I am ready to fade to gunmetal grey, and rust away into obscurity...but my time has not yet come, so I will share my stories while I can."
Twilight giggled to herself. "You're never going to be obscure, Optimus..."
"Is it true you got a kiss from Princess Celestia on your cheek?"
Optimus's eye turned away at this question. He still didn't like discussing the first time he and the Ponies celebrated Christmas together. "Her Majesty...was not in her right mind."
"So she was drunk." Nyx commented, to Apple Bloom's horror.
Optimus' optic enlarged in zoom on the black filly. "You know a lot of things a filly your age shouldn't, don't you?"
"Yeah, well...what are you gonna do?" Nyx shrugged. She got right to business. "Tell us a story! And not a happy story, either, like if you ran into a tower only to find Princess Celestia was in another castle." Nyx made her clear her distaste for happy stories. "Tell us a sad story!"
"Yeah!" All the other scouts began expressing approval for this idea.
"Very well." Optimus conceded, even though he had no fond memory of anytime he was sad. He sat down against the grass, laying his cane to rest. Slowly, to make sure he didn't crush something. A butterfly flew in front of his face, which he was distracted by before returning his gaze on the children. "I have just the one. Twilight Sparkle, if you would...?"
Twilight got his meaning and nodded. She pointed her horn at the ground, and beam of light came out of it. As the beam shone, all the scouts heard a terrible sound coming from it. A high-pitched whine that hurt the sensitive animal ears of those who had them, followed by a deep groan like a god bemoaning his fate, and his pain.
Nyx, fearing for her life, hugged Quintus for protection, who didn't think much of the sound, but he returned it gleefully, always liking a good hug.
"What was that?" Sunset Shimmer's daughter asked, fingers to her mouth.
"That, my little ponies and humans..." Optimus answered happily, a smile on his face, rather cheerful about the dark matter he was about to relate to them, and the tragedy of the story that was about to unfold. "Was the sound the world made...just before it ended."
"I am going to tell you the story of how the world ended."
Although that was right up her alley, Nyx saw the logic flaw in this and decided to call Optimus out on it. "If the world ended, how can we be here for you to tell us a story about it right now?"
Optimus then gave Nyx the proverbial slap into her place. "Perhaps if you would allow me to tell it, you could learn."
Nyx 'ooh'ed at her mistake, shut up, and sat down, as did the rest of the scouts, eager to hear the story from old, wise Optimus.
The story of how the world ended...
Author's Notes for "This is the Story..."
I've been wanting to do a 'Rusted Optimus and Aged Twilight tell a new generation about their experiences' story...
You'll notice, if you look real close, this is inspired by "Pax Cybertronia" the IDW issue just before "The Death of Optimus Prime". (Which does not actually feature Optimus Prime dying, in the first of much defiance to everything Transformers has taught us.)
And mention of Sunset Shimmer...
If you don't know who that is... be grateful.
By the way its written, whatever happens regarding a certain movie, doesn't matter, because this is the fuuuutureee! So in this way, I've finally satisfied my want to include a 'certain movie' while not making that terrible thing a vital component. This, in fact, goes completely against a principle I'm adapting for Infiltration itself, which states nothing will be mentioned that isn't relevant. Here, all sorts of things are mentioned that are in no way relevant. Like Shimmer making Alicorns stop being something special- he idea of that directly based off the idea in "Pax Cybertronian" where the future Autobots have several alternate modes, as opposed to just one or two.
Nyx is NOT the Nyx from Pen Stroke's "Past Sins" but she IS based off her.
Also, Pipsqueak is an adult...in this time.
The idea, is that you can 'attach' this to the beginning of Infiltration, but if you read Infiltration without reading this, you don't miss anything. There's literally nothing in here you need to know to enjoy our upcoming "Act Negative-Four" (IV_)
A 'hook', if you will.